Confused...To much conflicting advice

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Confused...To much conflicting advice

Sar86czi

Guest

Posted on 12-03-2014 at 5.09PM

Just wondering if any of you could help.
I've been looking up how much total sleep my LO (8weeks) needs over a 24 our period as he has recently stated waking early and not for a feed.
After a lot of searching I've found that the average time is 15ish hours. 5 during the day and 10 at night. This means that my 7 bed- 7 awake should go out of the window?
How the hell is my LO supposed to have 3 naps (most of the advice points to this) that totals 5 hours?! My son gets tired after every hour and a half. Its impossible....isn't it?
I've had enough. I don't know what to do for the best anymore. I thought we were getting the hang of things, he used to sleep brilliantly at night (6 hours,3 hours,3 hours) now thats gone tits up. AND we were starting to nap at the same kind of time every day (thats gone up the swanny as well)
Grrrr!!
:(

Just wondering if any of you could help.

I've been looking up how much total sleep my LO (8weeks) needs over a 24 our period as he has recently stated waking early and not for a feed.

After a lot of searching I've found that the average time is 15ish hours. 5 during the day and 10 at night. This means that my 7 bed- 7 awake should go out of the window?

How the hell is my LO supposed to have 3 naps (most of the advice points to this) that totals 5 hours?! My son gets tired after every hour and a half. Its impossible....isn't it?

I've had enough. I don't know what to do for the best anymore. I thought we were getting the hang of things, he used to sleep brilliantly at night (6 hours,3 hours,3 hours) now thats gone tits up. AND we were starting to nap at the same kind of time every day (thats gone up the swanny as well)

Grrrr!!

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Diane T(51)

Posted on 12-03-2014 at 5.18PM

Advice is general and based on statistics. Your baby is not a statistic. He's a tiny baby who may need more or less sleep than the &#034;average&#034; baby.
You have to do what you think is right. Don't let the advice overshadow your mummy instincts. Parenting is just about finding what works for you and your baby and going with it.
The most important thing is to keep calm. It's the best piece of advice you'll ever get (listen to that one;)).
Also, your baby may be unsettled because of any number of things e.g. illness, growth spurt, weather changes etc. It can all seem a bit too much for a little one. Just keep calm and persevere.

Advice is general and based on statistics. Your baby is not a statistic. He's a tiny baby who may need more or less sleep than the "average" baby.

You have to do what you think is right. Don't let the advice overshadow your mummy instincts. Parenting is just about finding what works for you and your baby and going with it.

The most important thing is to keep calm. It's the best piece of advice you'll ever get (listen to that one;)).

Also, your baby may be unsettled because of any number of things e.g. illness, growth spurt, weather changes etc. It can all seem a bit too much for a little one. Just keep calm and persevere.

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Mag42hah

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Posted on 17-03-2014 at 12.02PM

Hi Sarah
Diane is right and it is best to follow a baby led approach and be guided by your DSs unique individual need for sleep :)
Their daytime behaviour is often the best guide to how much sleep they need. How is his behaviour in the day? Is he happy and content or tired and irritable? Children who are tired are usually grumpy and miserable and often hyperactive, which can be mistaken for not being tired rather than overtired. I am wondering if he is getting enough sleep.
Have a look at this chart here Understanding your child 's sleep | sleep problems - Netmums and see how much sleep he needs and compare with what he is getting. Bear in mind there is a vast range of &#034;normal&#034; and all babies are different, some require more sleep and some less. Their individual need for sleep can vary on a daily basis and can be affected by how they feel and growth spurts see here Baby Growth Spurts and wonder weeks - Netmums . Lack of sleep can affect children 's development and health it also affects their concentration, verbal creativity, abstract thinking and ability to learn.
Sleep begets sleep and often if they sleep more in the day they sleep better at night and vice versa paradoxically an earlier bedtime sometimes help. I would suggest you be guided by him and his needs. LOs are very good at taking what sleep they need and it is better that if they are tired they sleep. Otherwise we can give mixed messages and they learn that if they are tired they fight sleep which is not what we want them to learn.
The things to watch out for are:
Are they gaining weight well?
Are they feeding well and producing plenty of wet and dirty nappies?
Do they seem happy/alert at least some of the time when awake?
If the answers to all these questions are 'yes' then I'd count yourself lucky your LO sleeps so much and wouldn't worry.
Just go with the flow and your instincts
Best wishes
Maggie :hug::hug:

Hi Sarah

Diane is right and it is best to follow a baby led approach and be guided by your DSs unique individual need for sleep

Their daytime behaviour is often the best guide to how much sleep they need. How is his behaviour in the day? Is he happy and content or tired and irritable? Children who are tired are usually grumpy and miserable and often hyperactive, which can be mistaken for not being tired rather than overtired. I am wondering if he is getting enough sleep.

Have a look at this chart here Understanding your child's sleep | sleep problems - Netmums[/url] and see how much sleep he needs and compare with what he is getting. Bear in mind there is a vast range of "normal" and all babies are different, some require more sleep and some less. Their individual need for sleep can vary on a daily basis and can be affected by how they feel and growth spurts see here Baby Growth Spurts and wonder weeks - Netmums. Lack of sleep can affect children's development and health it also affects their concentration, verbal creativity, abstract thinking and ability to learn.

Sleep begets sleep and often if they sleep more in the day they sleep better at night and vice versa paradoxically an earlier bedtime sometimes help. I would suggest you be guided by him and his needs. LOs are very good at taking what sleep they need and it is better that if they are tired they sleep. Otherwise we can give mixed messages and they learn that if they are tired they fight sleep which is not what we want them to learn.

The things to watch out for are:

Are they gaining weight well?Are they feeding well and producing plenty of wet and dirty nappies?Do they seem happy/alert at least some of the time when awake?

If the answers to all these questions are 'yes' then I'd count yourself lucky your LO sleeps so much and wouldn't worry.